Yesterday I continued my late spring fly fishing tour of Pennsylvania. I was fortunate to have the opportunity to fish a private stretch of water on Big Moores Run in Potter County, Pennsylvania. I was out of bed and on the road by 2:30am on Saturday morning and headed up Rt. 322. I enjoy driving early in the morning because it is quiet and there are no distractions. I typically listen to the Orvis Fly Guide Podcast Series when I have a long drive. Tom Rosenbauer is a wealth of knowledge and I’ve learned more than my share of tips and techniques from him and his guests. It was a trip down memory lane heading north as I drove the same route as I used to take with my father when we would go to my uncle’s deer hunting camp in Sproul State Forest when I was a teenager. I used to think Snowshoe was the middle of nowhere Pennsylvania, that is until I drove to Big Moores Run. This drive takes you along Wykoff Run and eventually along the First Fork Sinnemahoning Creek. I lost cell phone service just over 3 hours into the 4-hour trip. I arrived at Big Moores Run around 7:00am.

In my last post I explained that on my trip to Big Pine Creek, I had the misfortune of snapping my 9’-5wt Thomas & Thomas Horizon in half. The guys at Slate Run Tackle Shop talked me into buying a new 9’-5wt Orvis Recon with a 20% discount Orvis was offering. Within the 36 hours after buying this new fly rod and using it on Big Pine Creek three times, I couldn’t land a fish on it. To say it was frustrating would be an understatement. Any fly fisherman knows that after buying a new rod, the first thing to do is christen it by catching a trout on it. The guys at fish camp found this fishless conundrum to be hilarious. I came to the Big and Little Pine Creeks, lit them on fire for two and a half days and then, bang, it all changed. It’s bad enough hooking a good trout and then losing it when fishing by yourself, but to have your fish camp buddies observing, expecting the christening to happen, only to see the line go from tight to limp, and then the jokes start. I must’ve tied on a dozen different flies. I tried dry flies, I tried nymphs, I tried streamers and I ended up having to swallow my pride and go home fishless on the new Recon. If you fly fish long enough, the creeks and the trout will at some point give you a lesson in humility.